It all started in the late 1970's, when the spouses Lagnell decided to quit their former jobs in Gothenburg and instead focus on breeding salmon. In the south of Sweden, they started with small amounts of rainbow trout, which they then grew to 7-8 pound size, which at the time was rather unusual. With their own farms, they could in addition to exporting salmon to Europe also open a small shop in Heberg, with daily deliveries of fresh salmon. The shop grew as the years went by and the product range was also extended with products that did not need cooking but were ready to eat. When customers began to eat the products they bought in their cars, the idea for a restaurant was born.

1996, when the new motorway was built, Laxbutiken moved and built a larger restaurant with seventy seats. Again, the business grew and the sons Jonas and Jerker also began to work full time in the business. In 2003 a branch opened in Bohuslän Ljungskile with the same concept as in Halland. After a few more years both larger and more modern premises were needed in order to develop the business, so in 2009 a brand new restaurant was built in Heberg with a larger kitchen, restaurant, shop and new meeting rooms. In addition, the interior got a more modern impression which was also applied in the restaurant in Ljungskile one year later.

The ideas that continue to develop the business have been many over the years, but in recent years they have emerged into the creation of a new, smaller restaurant where the food must be of high quality but at the same time as accessible as other fast food chains. The result of this is Lilla Laxen.